NEET-like single entrance test for engineering likely

6/8/2016

Bengaluru: Engineering colleges across the country may go the NEET way. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which governs engineering colleges, is contemplating making JEE-Main the single entrance test for undergraduate BE courses.

At present, the Central Board of Secondary Education conducts JEE-Main for admissions to the premier IITs, National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institute of Information Technology and other centrally funded institutes.

AICTE chairman Anil D Sahasrabudhe told TOI on Tuesday some states are currently using JEE-Main as the entrance test to fill engineering seats in state colleges. "We are planning to make JEE-Main the single entrance test in the country. JEE-Main is based on the CBSE syllabus and different states are following different syllabi; so having a single entrance test for engineering is still in the planning stage."

Like medical admissions, students end up writing multiple entrance tests for engineering courses too. Students in Karnataka write at least four entrance tests - CET, ComedK, JEE and entrance to various deemed universities.

Sahasrabudhe said AICTE panel will visit engineering colleges with a lack of infrastructure, low student strength, lack of faculty and equipment. If flaws are found, such colleges will be shut down.

"Some colleges approach us to shut due to poor student strength; we have eased this process also. Earlier, we were collecting Rs 3 lakh to approve closure of such colleges, now it's cut to Rs 50,000. As per the new rule, the intake capacity of seats in engineering colleges, which don't have accreditation from the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), will not be increased, and AICTE will increase the intake capacity of engineering colleges which have NBA accreditation," he said.

At present, 15% of colleges have NBA accreditation.

Since not a single Indian engineering institute is among the top 100 institutes in the world, the HRD ministry has taken up a new initiative. Sahasrabudhe said the MHRD will identify 10 good private institutes and 10 government institutes, and provide funds and give freedom to improve aspects to become one among the top 100 institutes globally.